Standing at the front of a dimly lit room in the basement of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Teruko Yahata’s voice broke as she recalled the morning her world changed, on Aug. 6, 1945.
“All of a sudden, the entire sky flashed and was illuminated in bluish-white, as if the heavens had become one huge, fluorescent light,” the 85-year-old, speaking in English, told an audience of British tourists on a recent Tuesday.
“I immediately fell to the ground and lost consciousness.”
Photo: Reuters
Yahata is a hibakusha, a survivor of the atomic bomb dropped on the city of Hiroshima by the US. The bomb killed tens of thousands instantly; scores more suffered long-lasting injuries.
While talks by hibakusha have become a regular feature of the city’s memorial sites, Yahata stands out for her presentations in English.
Yahata, who was eight when she witnessed the nuclear destruction of her hometown, started traveling the world in 2013 to tell her story through an interpreter, but felt the experience lacking.
Photo: Reuters
“I had this vague dream of learning English so that I would be able to communicate in my own words, in my own voice, the dreadful power of that horrific atomic bomb and bring to life my own experience of that tragic, miserable scene, and sorrow,” she said, speaking in Japanese.
Resolving to learn English, she began taking classes at the YMCA as she headed into her 80s, and by 2021, was giving her presentations exclusively in English.
Yahata’s presentation is from a script translated by her English teacher, which she rehearses by reading along to a recording made by a native speaker. The script is covered in notes and prompts on correct pronunciation and intonation.
Yahata’s English ability is mostly limited to reading the script, but the impact of her spoken words on the audience is undeniable, moving some to tears.
“It feels very real still, when she speaks; she brings it like it’s happening today. She makes you feel that way,” said Briton Denise Hickson, visiting from Bristol.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is hosting the G7 summit in Hiroshima, his home constituency, starting on Friday. He is expected to give his guests a tour of the peace memorial and have them meet with atomic bomb survivors, as part of his efforts to convey a vision for a world free of nuclear weapons.
Although that vision seems more distant now with Russia threatening to resume nuclear tests and neighboring North Korea developing its own nuclear arsenal, Yahata’s expectations for G7 leaders are lofty.
“I want the G7 leaders to bring with them the vision of abolishing nuclear weapons,” she said. “I don’t want them to just talk about ideals or release a written resolution. I want them to take the first concrete step.”
The Lee (李) family migrated to Taiwan in trickles many decades ago. Born in Myanmar, they are ethnically Chinese and their first language is Yunnanese, from China’s Yunnan Province. Today, they run a cozy little restaurant in Taipei’s student stomping ground, near National Taiwan University (NTU), serving up a daily pre-selected menu that pays homage to their blended Yunnan-Burmese heritage, where lemongrass and curry leaves sit beside century egg and pickled woodear mushrooms. Wu Yun (巫雲) is more akin to a family home that has set up tables and chairs and welcomed strangers to cozy up and share a meal
Dec. 8 to Dec. 14 Chang-Lee Te-ho (張李德和) had her father’s words etched into stone as her personal motto: “Even as a woman, you should master at least one art.” She went on to excel in seven — classical poetry, lyrical poetry, calligraphy, painting, music, chess and embroidery — and was also a respected educator, charity organizer and provincial assemblywoman. Among her many monikers was “Poetry Mother” (詩媽). While her father Lee Chao-yuan’s (李昭元) phrasing reflected the social norms of the 1890s, it was relatively progressive for the time. He personally taught Chang-Lee the Chinese classics until she entered public
Last week writer Wei Lingling (魏玲靈) unloaded a remarkably conventional pro-China column in the Wall Street Journal (“From Bush’s Rebuke to Trump’s Whisper: Navigating a Geopolitical Flashpoint,” Dec 2, 2025). Wei alleged that in a phone call, US President Donald Trump advised Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi not to provoke the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over Taiwan. Wei’s claim was categorically denied by Japanese government sources. Trump’s call to Takaichi, Wei said, was just like the moment in 2003 when former US president George Bush stood next to former Chinese premier Wen Jia-bao (溫家寶) and criticized former president Chen
President William Lai (賴清德) has proposed a NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special eight-year budget that intends to bolster Taiwan’s national defense, with a “T-Dome” plan to create “an unassailable Taiwan, safeguarded by innovation and technology” as its centerpiece. This is an interesting test for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and how they handle it will likely provide some answers as to where the party currently stands. Naturally, the Lai administration and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are for it, as are the Americans. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is not. The interests and agendas of those three are clear, but
RSS